A's Reddick named AL Player of the Week

OAKLAND -- If an American League "Comeback Player of the Week" award existed, Josh Reddick would have gotten that, too.

Instead, he'll settle for the real one he earned, the AL's Player of the Week, which was announced before Tuesday night's AL West showdown against the Angels.

Not bad for a guy who in August scuffled a bit and saw his batting order slot slip from No. 3 to No. 6 in an attempt to revive what had been a hot bat that had All-Star quality numbers.

Turns out change was just what Reddick needed. He batted .387 (12-for-31) with three home runs, 10 RBIs and seven runs during a week in which the A's went 7-0. The stretch included his first-career grand slam on Friday night against Boston.

"Coming off a rough stretch, it shows a little bit about his tenacity," manager Bob Melvin said. "It just goes to show you there's no quit in him."

Reddick is the third A's hitter to garner the award this season, as Brandon Moss earned the nod in June and rookie Yoenis Cespedes took home the award in July. He beat out Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, who batted .478 with three homers and seven RBIs and was seeking his second consecutive weekly honor.

Reddick is arguably the biggest offensive catalyst on the A's. Entering Tuesday, he was batting .260 with 28 homers and 75 RBIs, and led the team in runs, hits, doubles, homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, extra-base hits and total bases.

And was slotted third on Tuesday, for the 119th time this season.

It looks as though that August move in the batting order was temporary and Melvin believes Reddick's hot hitting is as permanent as it gets.